Cleaner for type-writing machines.



No. 745,238. PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903.

' G. H. REESE.

CLEANER FOR TYPE WRITING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, 1903.

' N0 MODEL.

J z!!! 4;: I a. v E W/T/VESSES: 2 [/VVE/VTOR I C a ew'remeese v @192 1BY wk a MWM w 9 NITED' STATES fatented November-24, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE H. REESE, OF GWYNNBROOK, MARYLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,238, dated November24 1903.

Application filed February 10, 1903. Serial No. 142,814:- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLARENCE H. REESE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gwynnbrook, in the'county of Baltimore and State ofMaryland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cleaners forType- Writing Machines, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to a type-cleaner for type-writing machines foruse in connection with machines in which the type-carrying bars orlevers are arranged in basket form and accessible through the medium ofan upper opening defined by the basket.

The present type-cleaner is of such form as to permit its readyapplication to and operation on type disposed in approximatelyelliptical form and to equally bear upon all the type-faces andsimultaneously remove dirt or grit from the latter. By having the directcleaning member of the improved device bear equally on all thetype-faces the least disturbance of the alinement of the type is avoidedand at the same time a thorough cleaning operation ensues.

Broadly stated, the invention contemplates the use of a brush having aperipheral contour corresponding to that of the series'of type-faceswith'which' it is adapted to cooperate and means for holding the brushwithin the basket of a type-writing machinewith such degree ofpositiveness that it may be vertically reciprocated to eifect a thoroughcleaning and polishing of the type-faces.

The invention also contemplates the use of a cleaning-brush having acontour similar to that of the series of type with which it is placed inengagement and also such dimensions as to bring the brush members withequal pressure against the type-faces. v

The invention further consists in the details of construction andarrangement of the several parts which will be more fully hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of aportion of a type-writing-machine basket and the improved cleaner inoperative position in relation thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofthe cleaner.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts in the views.

The numeral 1 designates a frame comprising an upper plate 2, havingopenings 3 at diametrically opposite points. Secured to and dependingfrom the said plate 2 is a series of resilient arms 4, which areoutwardly inclined toward their lower extremities-and curved inw-ardlyat their upper portions. The arms4 are diametrically disposed, and totheir lower terminals elongated pressure members in the form oflongitudinally-curved straps 5 are socured. The pressure members arearranged to form a substantial rectangle with curved sides, two of themembers being longer than the remaining pair, as clearly indicated byFig. 2. Two. of' the arms 4 are continued the top horizontal member 7 ofthe latter above the plate 2 to form a guide 6, and in openings 8 areconstructed and arranged in alinement with the openings 3 in the plate 2below.

A handle 9 has its opposite members reciprocatingly mounted in the topmember of the guide and plate 2 and freely movable in the openings 3 and8 of the said respective parts.

, The lower terminals of the handle are screwminally trimmed or cut toconform exactly 5 to the contour of the periphery of the body 10 and 'tothe normal arrangement or disposition of the type-faces within certainmakes of type-writing machines.

In applying the improved device the upper opening leading to atype-basket is cleared by throwing the ribbon back and out of the way,and the arms 4 are compressed to permit them to pass down through thesaid open- 1 ing and then released to have them frictionally engage thetype-levers, the cleaner as an entirety being depressed until the brush14: engages the type-faces, as clearly shown by Fig. 1. While .in thisposition the operator holds the cleaner at the upper portion with onehand and vertically reciprocates the haudle 9 with the other hand,thereby causing the brush 14c to regularly move over the typefaces Withequal pressure on all of the latter. As soon as the cleaning operationis completed the arms 4 are again compressed and the device removed fromthe type-basket.

As heretofore indicated, the exertion of equal pressure on all thetype-faces by the brush 14 at the same time will overcome any tendencyto throw the type out of alinement or bend the type bars or levers, and,furthermore, the type-faces can be expeditiously cleaned as well aspolished. In some instances the cleaner may be furnished ellipticalbrushes of the form set forth having varying dimensions, so as to adaptthe same for use in connection with type-baskets correspondinglydiffering in dimensions; but as the scale of certain classes of machineshaving the type-faces normally disposed in elliptical form is uniformone brush of a corresponding size will be effective in cleaning thetype-faces of such machines.

The improved cleaner overcomes the disadvantages of individuallyremoving dirt and sediment or grit from type-faces, and the operator canreadily use the cleaner without soiling the hands.

The arms 4, carrying the pressure members at their lower ends, arematerially advantageous in view of the fact that the entire complementof the type-bars of a type-writing machine are engaged by the saidpressure members, and all the type will be held firmly in placeregardless of the thickness of the brush or the quality of the bristlesof the latter. Moreover, the plate 2 forms a shoulder upon whichdownward pressure may be exerted to cause the pressure members to firmlyengage the type-bars, the said shoulder bein g readily accessible at thetop of the basket, and conjointly operating with this structure as ameans for firmly holding the attachment in applied position is the guide6, which will serve as a grip to steady the device while the brush isvertically reciprocated. By maintaining the attachment in immovableposition within the type-basket and having the pressure members engagethe type-bars above the type of the latter the brush will work with evenpressure on all of the type and without bearing stronger on one sidethan the other. In devices of this class, where springs are used toreturn the parts to normal position or assist in their operation, manydisadvantages have been observed, and, among others, may be mentionedthatin such devices the downward stroke requires not only sufficientpower to overcome the resistance of the brush against the type, whichwill be increased by thickening the brush, but must also overcome theresistance of the spring, which must also have suflicient power toovercome the same brush resistance in an upward direction, and thisamount of pressure upon the type-bars, especially when distributed toonly two sides, must have a tendency to force the type out of alinement.

A further advantage of having the pressure members at the sides and endsof the cleaner is that the latter is prevented from wabbling or havingunsteady position within the type-basket when applied. If the pressuredevices were only on the sides, or if the sides were clear and the endssupplied with such pressure members, it is obvious that the cleanerwould have to be held in a particular manner by the operator to preventit from moving out of place when the brush was reciprocated. The presentimproved construction, embodying pressure devices surrounding the deviceas an entirely or located at the sides and ends, dispenses with the useof a thick clumsy brush and makes it possible to use a neat thin brush.Moreover, the arrangement of the frame of the cleaner as set forthpermits it to project above the upper portion of the type-writingmachine, which allows the arms or pressure members to be sufficientlycompressed to clear the ribbonguards usually found at each end of thetop of the type-basket, and, as before intimated, the end pressuremembers hold the frame in fixed position within the type-basket.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1.A cleaner for type-writing-machine type freely insertible in andwithdrawahle from the upper open portion of a type-basket, con sistingof a frame having an upper shoulder and grip means normally projectedabove the upper open end of the type-basket when the cleaner is applied,and arms depending from the shoulder and carrying side and end pressuremembers, and a brush reciprocatingly mounted within the area of thepressure members and having a contour corresponding to the normalarrangement of the type, the pressure members being movably held andsurrounding an area greater than the maximum dimension of the brush andlocated above the latter whereby all the type-bars comprising the basketwill have an equal pressure applied thereto above the type.

2. A cleaner for type-writing-machine type freely insertible in andwithdrawable from the upper open portion of a type-basket comprising anupper horizontal plate with arms depending therefrom, a portion of thearms being continued above the plate to form a grip, the arms carryingat their lower extremities side and end pressure members to engage typeof the bars of the basket above the type, a brush conforming to thecontour of the type when in normal position and freely movable upwardlyWithin the confines of the pressure members, and means connected to thebrush vertically slidable through the plate and the grip whereby thebrush may be operated, the said means having applied thereto an equalmovement in opposite directions to clean the type-faces.

IIO

3. A oleaner for type-writing-machine type means connected to the brushand movable freely insertible in and withdrawable from verticallythrough the frame, the brush being the upper open portion of atype-basket and movable within the confines of the pressure consistingof a vertically-reciprocable brush members and operative in oppositedirections [5 5 conforming in contourto the normal position solely bymanual power.

of the type and having a movement in oppo- In testimony whereof I affixmy signature site directions without resistance, a frame in presence oftwo Witnesses. having depending side and end pressure mem- CLARENCE H.REESE. bers to engage the type-bars above the type to Witnesses:

zo exert an equal pressure on said bars through- JOHN L. FLETCHER,

' out the entire complement of the latter, and l CHAS. S. HYER.

